With Diwali falling on Sunday, November 8 this year, several Indian-curriculum schools across the UAE are planning to stretch the festival holiday into a four-day break by joining it with the weekend.
GEMS Our Own Indian School in Dubai is among the schools offering the extended break. Principal Lalitha Suresh said that because the holiday falls right next to the weekend this year, families will be able to enjoy a welcome four-day break together.
Shining Star International School in Abu Dhabi is planning a similar arrangement for its students while still meeting the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge's requirement of 191 to 196 teaching days per academic year. Principal Abhilasha Singh explained that the school allocates two days to Diwali and a further day to another autumn festival.
Not every school can offer the same flexibility. Sharjah Indian School said it cannot provide a separate Diwali break this year, noting that under its current four-day school week with three days off, there is no longer room to add extra festival holidays the way there used to be.
The differences highlight how Indian-curriculum and CBSE schools across the UAE, despite broadly following the same academic calendar, end up making distinct decisions on cultural holidays depending on their own term structures and the requirements of local education authorities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. For many families, the timing means a long weekend built around one of the most widely celebrated festivals among the UAE's Indian community, while schools balance that goodwill against mandatory minimum teaching days.